When You See a Dictator Fall, Put Your Tyranny on Hold

From this part of the world, more than one authoritarian ruler must have nightmares since Al Assad fell.

For a nonagenarian like Raúl Castro, it must be especially difficult to deal with what has happened. / Prensa Latina

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Yoani Sánchez, Generation Y, Havana, 13 December 2024 — The big news of the end of the year is, without a doubt, the flight to Moscow of the Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The collapse of his regime, which opens up a range of possibilities and fears about the political direction that Damascus will take, also refreshes lessons about tyrants that, although well-known, should not cease to be repeated and taken into account. Like a paper tiger, the once fierce leader escaped with his family, left his officials in the lurch and abandoned his army. More than one authoritarian ruler in this part of the world must have had nightmares since then.

He who until a few weeks ago seemed to be a man firmly in power, who had managed to resist a long civil war and was beginning to be reinserted in international organizations such as the Arab League, in just a few days escaped from his palaces, boarded a plane with his family and ended up in Moscow. His soldiers hurriedly removed their uniforms and left them lying in the street, the jailers guarding the fearsome Sednaya prison fled and the Baath party he led has suspended all its activities “until further notice.” The autocrat’s entire apparatus of control and coercion collapsed, despite the fear of the population and the support of Russia.

On this side of the Atlantic, the images of the Syrian people entering the richly decorated rooms where Al Assad lived and the opening of the cells full of opponents must have cost more than one person their the peace of mind. For some time now, the unpresentable regimes of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba have also been eager to show their closeness to the Kremlin. They appear in photos with officials, ministers and military officers under the orders of Vladimir Putin to, among other things, send the message that behind their backs the fierce Russian bear is rising. They use their proximity and political harmony with Moscow also as a warning of invulnerability and strength.

On this side of the Atlantic, the images of the Syrian people entering the richly decorated rooms where Al Assad lived and the opening of the cells full of opponents must have cost more than one person their the peace of mind.
However, along with Assad, the great loser in Syria has been Russia, which, bogged down in the invasion of Ukraine, could not defend its crony Damascus. Neither the naval base in Tartus nor the planes with pilots sent by Putin prevented the fall of a dynasty that robbed its people of their freedom for more than half a century. Nor did the diplomatic complicity that Moscow displayed with Damascus in international forums protect it. In a few days, all that became just words, gestures and the past.
For a nonagenarian like Raúl Castro, who maintained ties of collaboration and complicity first with Hafez al-Assad and later with his son, it must be especially difficult to deal with what has happened. The world he knew no longer exists: the socialist camp imploded, the Berlin Wall fell, political allies have been losing power one by one or dying in oblivion, and more than one of his close caudillos has been swept away by the pressure of their own people. And to make matters worse, Moscow no longer seems to inspire the fear it once did, it is not capable of looking after the backs of its cronies. The only option for his fellow authoritarians now is to take refuge in Putin’s land.

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published in Deutsche Welle in Spanish.